discontinued: 56 posts

As an illustration of the idea that time doesn’t always separate the wheat from the chaff, two gems–Bulgari Black and Guerlain Nahéma extrait de parfum–have been discontinued. Black has been in limited distribution for some time, but the news of its discontinuation is now official. It has a peculiar odor of rubber and lapsang souchong tea, an anti-trend perfume as it were. As for Nahéma, the parfum was one of Guerlain’s treasures.

Other perfumes to bid goodbye to this year include Fleur de Chine, Lys Fume, Jonquille de Nuit, and Azure Lime, all from Tom Ford’s Private Blend collection. Azure Lime was Ford’s attempt to do an expensive take on a cheap sports cologne, so I’m not going to miss it, but Fleur de Chine was a brilliant aldehydic floral, modern but with a clever retro twist.

Elisa describes her beloved long lost perfumes and considers alternatives.

Perhaps the hardest part of the perfume hobby is seeing beautiful perfumes be discontinued. But that’s only the first stage to get through – often, discontinued perfumes are still available online and through discounters for years after they fall out of production. The really hard part comes when those stocks dry up, and the last remaining bottles can only occasionally be found for sale through unreliable sources and at astronomical prices. Iris Gris – a legendary Vincent Roubert creation from 1946 – is perhaps the quintessential “lost perfume.”

But you don’t have to dig back too far into last century to find lost perfumes. Here are five perfumes from the last 25 years that I’ve fallen in love with, only to find them largely unavailable.

L’Arte di Gucci (1991)

Thankfully, there are still good rose chypres in production. But L’Arte di Gucci was special – a big, fruity, nuanced red rose that brings to mind Eau de Joy, with its facets of aldehydes, cassis, and jasmine. To my nose, the base is mostly about the dark, earthy patchouli, with the oakmoss less prominent than in, say, Paloma Picasso. When Angela reviewed this perfume in 2011, she compared it to “wearing red lipstick with a red dress” – a combination so obvious that Donatella Versace called it bourgeois. But I love the costumey effect of L’Arte di Gucci, the way it references both elegance and power. Victoria recommends trying Dior Diorling, Chanel Cuir de Russie, and Parfum d’Empire Cuir Ottoman, if the dark, dry leather of L’Arte di Gucci is what you loved the most.

L’Artisan Parfumeur is discontinuing Navegar and Tea for Two, while Serge Lutens is removing Five O’Clock Au Gingembre from its collection. I’m disappointed, since I just fell in love anew with Navegar. Those who love these fragrances might want to stock up. Via Luckyscent.

Houbigant is a fragrance house with a remarkable legacy. Its Fougère Royal created in 1882 by talented Paul Parquet was the first fragrance that successfully fused the manmade ingredient coumarin with natural aromatics. The majority of fragrances trailed by men today are descended from this abstract and effervescent composition. By the time Robert Bienaimé took over the reins from Parquet as the chief Houbigant perfumer, the house had several beautiful fragrances to its name: Le Parfum Idéal, Violette Pourpre and Coeur de Jeannette. Bienaimé created several other distinctive blends, including Quelques Fleurs before opening his own house Bienaimé Parfums in 1935. Essence Rare was one of the last few fragrances he designed for Houbigant before his departure.

For today’s post in the Long Lost Favorite Perfume series, I’m combining three requests: Elaine’s for Guerlain Attrape-Coeur, Azrifah’s for Alexander McQueen Kingdom and Cybele’s for Gucci Envy. Since I have already reviewed these perfumes, I decided to skip the descriptions and focus on exploring alternatives for these discontinued gems.

And gems they are! While these are three very different perfumes, they have in common their distinctive and striking character. This also makes these fragrances hard to match. As with complex works of literature and music, we love perfumes for different reasons: for the memories they elicit, for a particularly elegant drydown or for the rich, enveloping sillage. I hope that my suggestions capture some of the most interesting dimensions of these exceptional perfumes, and of course, please share your suggestions as well.

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